Birmingham City manager Garry Monk has admitted that the club could appeal the red card given to Craig Gardner during the recent 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough. Gardner was sent off during the 83rd minute of the game after a lunge on Jonny Howson but Monk believes there was not much malice involved in the challenge.

Speaking to reporters, he said: “For me it wasn’t, I looked straight at it so I had the front on view. There was no malice, it wasn’t done dangerously. The ref was the other side, he’s from the back of it so he’s given it. We will have to have a good look at that.We will consider an appeal. He was making an honest attempt to go for the ball. From my point of view it wasn’t a red card.”Continue reading “Birmingham City boss plans to appeal Craig Gardner sending off”→

Premier League side Chelsea have undergone several changes over the years. Before Roman Abramovich billions, there have been some stellar players that have passed through the Stamford Bridge ranks. Since the intervention of the Russian, there have been even more successes, and many more stars.

In goal, PetrCech takes the spot in Chelsea’s best ever XI. The Czech Rep star played brilliant football for 11 years. His passion was evident, and his records were a testament. He has the best clean sheet record in the league, ahead of Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel.Continue reading “OPINION: CHELSEA’S BEST EVER XI”→

Glen Johnson made 200 appearances during his six-year stint on the Merseyside before joining Stoke City when his contract with the Reds expired in the summer. Glen Johnson insists he bears no grudges over his Liverpool exit and claims he rejected the chance to stay at Anfield.

The belief had been that Glen Johnson was forced to leave the Anfield against his own wishes. However, the former West Ham right-back claims he has no regrets over his departure as he left on his terms. He said: “I had a very good time [at Liverpool] and enjoyed the majority of it. But I turned down a new contract at the end of the day, so it ended exactly how I would like.”

He revealed that he met Mark Hughes who said to him everything that he wanted to hear. He says he’s settling in well and he feels welcomed in the club so it couldn’t have been going any better at the moment. Liverpool missed out on a Champions League spot after a disastrous end to the 2015/2016 season that saw them win just one of their final six matches, including a 6-1 drubbing at Stoke on the last day.

Rodgers brought in Christian Benteke, Roberto Firmino and James Milner as part of a massive overhaul the next summer that has seen skipper Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling join Johnson out the exit door. Johnson began his career at West Ham United, spending time on loan at Millwall, and was signed by Chelsea for a £6 million fee after West Ham’s relegation in 2003. He helped Chelsea win the 2004–05 Premier League title and the 2005 League Cup Final. In June 2006, Johnson joined Portsmouth on loan for the 2006–07 season. Following a successful season on loan at Fratton Park, Johnson joined Pompey a permanently for a fee of around £4 million.

Glen Johnson is heading for his Stoke exit due to the arrival of the Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma, who joined the Potters on loan this summer.

The 33-year old Englishman, will have to exit at the end of the campaign as a free agent as he has not penned down another contract with his side so far.

It can be revealed that the former Chelsea, Portsmouth and Liverpool defender needed to play 25 Premier League games last season for him to be given a new deal but he fell short of the required amount. Meanwhile the England international has interest from his old club West Ham while Crystal Palace are also considering a move this summer.

When he was signed from Liverpool on a free transfer in 2015, his wages are understood to be around the £60,000-a-week mark while the now ex-Stoke City right-back, Bardsleywho was earning less, battled with Johnson for the right-back position before he eventually left for the newly promoted Burnley upon Stoke’s renewal offer. Continue reading “Glen Johnson FACES UNCERTAIN STOKE CITY FUTURE”→

Premier League side Stoke City are hoping to get more players into the team before the league begins next week.

The top flight side are asking for a little faith from supporters who are expecting to see new faces.

Coach Mark Hughes is hoping to add three players after acquiring Kurt Zouma on loan from Chelsea, and Darren Fletcher on a free deal. Josh Tymon, 18, is also to join. The Potters are keen on getting their targets at the right price. The progress has been slow but Hughes remains hopeful ahead of their clash with Everton in the league next week.

They started well but quickly faltered. They had to deep dig to finish the season in the top four. The full backs received much of the blame for what happened in the season. Coach Jurgen Klopp would need to look at settling this issue this summer if the Kops are to achieve anything substantial in the forthcoming term.

Looking at the best players in the role; from the recently retired Philipp Lahm at Bayern to Benjamin Mendy for the youthful Monaco team, successful clubs need outstanding cover in the role. See how Nathaniel Clyne is being praised for his efforts in his role. He is decent in defence and can help push the attack.

Leicester City are set to face Stoke City in the Premier League this weekend as the Foxes try to confirm their spot above relegation this season.

The defending champions put up an excellent performance in the last game against West Ham, showing us some of what we saw last season where they defied the odds 5000 to 1.

Leicester would be without their captain Wes Morgan who has been ruled out due to back injury. He missed the 3-2 victory over West Ham before the international break, and he is yet to get the permission to play this week. MollaWague joined in January but he has played just once. He is sidelined for this game due to shoulder problem. NampalysMendy would sit out the game against Stoke as his knee issue persists.

Leicester are not the only ones with injured stars. Stoke would be without star player XherdanShaqiri as his calf problem continues. Glen Johnson shoulder concerns remain so he would miss the game. Jack Butland ankle injury would ensure he misses the game as well.
Craig Shakespeare would continue his charge over the host side as they seek yet another morale-boosting victory. A victory would make him the first British manager to win his first four Premier League games.

Danny Drinkwater would play a big role in the middle after recovering from the minor hip problem that kept him out of action for the Three Lions. Goalkeeper Kasper Schmiechel was impressive in the Champions League and against the Hammers. He would play a critical role in the game as they await Stoke City at Kings Power Stadium.

Stoke have been struggling of late, so they are not fancied to get the results. The best they can likely get is a draw, analysts predict. The visitors have also failed to score in their last three away matches, with the last coming in January.

Hull City midfielder Ryan Mason who is on the path of recovering from a skull surgery after a collision with Chelsea player Gary Cahill is happy to see his team captain Michael Dawson.

The injured player is at St Mary’s Hospital Paddington but was very pleased to see familiar faces when they dropped by to say hello.

Dawson and his dad Glen, the club’s doctor and secretary and his agent paid him a visit even as the whole English football community join to sympathize with him. The club manager Marco Silva also visited him but returned back to the city same night.

The doctor after the visit said that all was fine as many remained fearful after the collision.
“He’s good. He was delighted to see us. Marco Silva the manager went back to Hull last night but all medical staff stayed down. The team captain Michael Dawson, the club secretary, the physio and his dad were here today,” he said.

The doctor refused to divulge sensitive medical details like if the player suffered bleeding in his brain or anything at all about his situation. Many opine that it might take the player a while to return to regular football with the club.Mason underwent a surgery to the fractured skull recently. The club’s official statement says that the player has been visited by the club and his family and that the hospital would continue to monitor the situation for a few more days.

Glen Johnson said that he is happy to be back for Stoke City after spending some six weeks on the sideline.

The player has been injured in training and has been absent from the Stoke City team since the match against Manchester United.

The player who only managed to have a few training sessions after coming back for Stoke City was rushed onto the pitch after Phil Bardsley was injured during the game. Although he is happy to have been able to get back playing, he said that he was disappointed with the circumstance.

Glen Johnson said that it is never easy to spend time off the pitch while you are injured and that he would have like to be back in the team in other circumstances. He has wished a speedy recovery to his team mate and hoped that they could play together very soon.
Glen Jonhson said that he has been training hard in order to come back to his best level and believes that he is now reaping the fruits. He admitted that he still lack match sharpness, but he knows that things will get better when he keeps playing.

He believes that Stoke City is underperforming at the moment and that they need to become more consistent. He said that the club has some good players and it is up to them to deliver on the pitch. He stated that he wants to fight on the pitch and that he seeks to help the team finish as high as they can.

Glen Jonhson said that he was disappointed with the game against Bournemouth and feel that the team could have obtained something from the game. He believes that they have done enough during the match to win at least a point and that it was disappointing to have lost the game.